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Is Your Texas Small Business Required to Offer Paternity Leave?

Posted on Nov 15, 2012

As a small business owner, you have a lot of decisions to make regarding employment, pay, vacation, and other benefits. You may want to make a decision for your business, but you are unsure what the law says about it.

When an employee at your company becomes a new father, it is normal to be happy and excited for him and his family. But, do you have to provide him with paternity leave? If you do, does the paternity leave have to be a paid leave?

For small businesses, paternity leave varies depending on several factors, including:

How many people you employ

Where your employees live

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) says that employers who employ at least 50 people who live within a 75-mile radius must allow new fathers unpaid paternity leave. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from this rule.

FMLA allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks off, unpaid, for medical- and family-related reasons. This includes paternity leave. An eligible employee generally is one who has worked for your company for over one year. However, there are exceptions to this rule, such as if the father going on paternity leave is one of the top-wage earners of the company.

For more information on these types of questions and rules, it is beneficial to have access to small business general counsel services in Austin. If you would like help ensuring you are in compliance with the law, call the Posey Law Firm today toll-free at 888.269.1962 or locally at 512-646-0828.